Over the past two decades, the royally owned Sandringham estate has been linked to numerous deaths and disappearances of protected birds of prey.
of The Guardian according to the information gathered by the king Charles’s the private Sandringham estate has been linked to deaths and disappearances of protected birds of prey.
The Guardian reports that 18 cases have been observed around the property over the course of two decades, in which, for example, the shooting of rare birds or the misuse of rat poison have been suspected.
Sandringham covers approximately 8,100 hectares of parkland, farmland and woodland. The property could therefore accommodate a total of approximately 1,653 Helsinki Olympic Stadiums.
According to official documents obtained by The Guardian, the royal estate has been regularly investigated by police and surveillance authorities. The most recent investigation ended earlier this year.
One case concerned the disappearance of two meadow hawks. The meadow hawk is one of the UK’s rarest and most endangered birds of prey.
Both meadow hawks had satellite tags and both disappeared suddenly without warning, the first in August 2014 and the second in August 2017.
The police investigated both cases, but since the birds’ bodies were not found, there was no evidence of a crime.
Sandringham denied knowing anything about the birds’ disappearance.
Another case that received media attention was in October 2007 when the police interrogated the prince Harry and his friend after two peregrine falcons were shot over Sandringham. However, no arrests or charges resulted from this.
One recent case involved a peregrine falcon found on a beach near Sandringham in 2021. Tests found traces of three different rat poisons in the bird’s liver, and an X-ray showed a bullet hole in the bird. Abuse of rat poison has been suspected in the area before.
However, only one case has resulted in prosecution. In 2006, a Sandringham gamekeeper was fined £500 after admitting injuring a protected owl. Three other charges were dismissed, one of the charges concerned the improper use of rat poison.
A spokesperson for Sandringham responded that it co-operates with any investigation into any alleged wildlife or pesticide incidents. According to them, most of the claims made by The Guardian were investigated without further action or were based on little evidence.